Explore the Bay Area's culinary diversity

In no other city besides New Orleans is food such a draw as it is in San Francisco. A survey by the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau found that more than half the city's tourists listed food, dining and restaurants as main reasons for visiting.

That said, it's next to impossible to limit a tour of San Francisco's unique restaurants to only 10, but I'll try by highlighting some of the restaurants that show off San Francisco's culinary diversity.

Aziza

Cuisine: American (contemporary)

Mourad Lahlou opened a restaurant with no formal training, fueled by a love of cooking and a desire to replicate the flavors he grew up with in Morocco. As his confidence grew and his techniques improved, he began incorporating local influences. He offers an a la carte menu, but the scope of his talent is showcased in a nightly changing 10-course tasting menu.

Benu

Cuisine: American

(contemporary)

Corey Lee worked eight years as chef de cuisine at the French Laundry before going out on his own more than two years ago to create what is now a four-star restaurant. He uses Western techniques but doesn't shy away from distinct Asian flavors and textures to create mesmerizing cross-cultural blends. On the 16-plus-course menu, diners may discover a 1,000-year-old quail egg, with its prized rubberiness, floating in a ginger-scented potage. Yoon Hu's wine pairings are equally stunning.

Cotogna

Cuisine: Italian

Few places capture the Italian spirit better than this restaurant that shares a back hallway with Quince. Chef Michael Tusk and his wife, Lindsay, move effortlessly between the two properties. The open kitchen is warmed by a special grill that shoots flames up the back. Large windows overlooking the tree-lined streets of Jackson Square give a sense of place. Most items are priced by categories: Pastas are $17; antipasti, $12; pizza, $17; desserts, $8; wine, $40; glasses, $10. One of the best deals in the city is the nightly three-course menu for $24.

Foreign Cinema

Cuisine: California (Mediterranean)

When visitors want a restaurant that encapsulates the Northern California sensibility, Foreign Cinema is the first place that comes to mind. The food produced by Gayle Pirie and John Clark has a sense of place; it's both rustic and refined, hearty but light. Combinations are interesting and finely crafted, whether it's whipped brandade and potatoes with Thai green chiles; or ahi tuna tartare tostadas; or four-peppercorn duck breast with candy cap mushrooms.

There's something for everyone: private rooms; a covered dining patio where movies are projected along the back wall; an indoor dining room with brick walls and a large fireplace; and a great bar for cocktails. One room even doubles as an art gallery.

House of Prime Rib

Cuisine: Prime rib

Mention the name of this restaurant to people who have been there - whether they are gourmands or meat-and-potatoes types - and the answer is almost universal: They love it. The restaurant has been doing one thing since 1949 - prime rib - and does it spectacularly. The corn-fed meat is aged 21 days, roasted in rock salt and carved tableside. Each dinner comes with a mixed green salad theatrically tossed tableside in a spinning bowl. Dinners also include creamed spinach, Yorkshire pudding and either mashed or baked potato. The warren of handsome dining rooms resembles an English men's club, with a fireplace in every room. Owner Joe Betz is a perfectionist and maintains the place meticulously.

Nojo

Cuisine: California (Japanese)

After making his name as chef of the upscale Ame in the St. Regis, former Chronicle Rising Star Greg Dunmore opened this special izakaya two years ago, next to the newly opened SFJazz Center. The small modern dining room with eggplant-colored chairs and bamboo tables is dominated by big windows overlooking Franklin Street and by the open kitchen. Dunmore produces small plates and skewers such as chicken thighs with sea salt and lemon, or duck liver with plum sauce. At brunch, don't miss the ramen topped with an egg.

Nopalito

Cuisine: Mexican

Now there are two locations of this Mexican restaurant, known for using organic, sustainable products - the original location on Broderick and an equally excellent outpost on Ninth Avenue. It's quite a success for Gonzalo Guzman and Jose Ramos, who started cooking at the sister restaurant, Nopa. Chef-owner Laurence Jossel was so impressed with their staff meals he knew they needed their own stage.

Both restaurants have modern, comfortable interiors, but the food is the star, whether it's a simple panucho with black beans, chicken and cabbage, or seared trout with pumpkin seed sauce, butter beans and chile de arbol.

Trick Dog

Cuisine: Bar food

Some may wonder why a bar would make my Top 10 list. Simply: The food and the cocktails are totally in sync, elevating the pleasure of both. Chef Chester Watson reinvents bar classics such as pimiento cheese spread with cheddar, Spanish cherry peppers and Carpano Antica sweet vermouth. Radishes are served with butter flavored with dehydrated Campari; Scotch eggs are wrapped in brandade; tacos are stuffed with crisp head cheese. The interior has a cutting-edge industrial look; you may have to stand and eat, but there's also a mezzanine with tables upstairs.

Yank Sing

Cuisine: Chinese

During the week, all 250 seats at this classic, upscale Chinese restaurant are full. On weekends, the number of seats balloons to 500 and it's still tough to find a table. The reason is simple: This is the best dim sum you'll find. The accommodating staff continually circles the tables, pushing carts filled with bamboo baskets of dumplings and other specialties.

The restaurant is run by the third generation of the Chan family. Aside from the dumplings, you can also get individual orders of Peking duck, pristine pea shoots and a few other specialties. There's a more modest branch a few blocks away.

Zuni Cafe

Cuisine: California (Mediterranean)

When it opened in 1979, Zuni Cafe must have been way ahead of its time because even as the decades mount, the restaurant continues to feel current. Maybe it's the interior that capitalizes on the quirky architecture and industrial materials found in the building, maybe it's the timeless food crafted by Judy Rodgers, or maybe it's the clientele that seems to rediscover it with every generation.